Saggi

The 2020 Saggi is composed of 62% Sangiovese, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah. The nose opens with classic red fruits and a floral and dusty note that wafts from the glass, then delightful and seductive dark fruit and baked clay notes release with additional time in the glass and swirling. Full-bodied, the Sangiovese blend offers a firm mouthfeel and bright and energetic cherry flavors before dusty florals grip the mid-palate. The wine continues to uncoil, offering notes of black raspberry over the succulent, food-friendly finish and lingering tannic edge. Bravo!

The 2020 Saggi Red Wine is made by the talented Gilles Nicault (who is also the genius behind the quality of all these Long Shadows releases) and is 62% Sangiovese, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Syrah. Terrific red and black fruits, white pepper, sandalwood, and smoky oak all emerge on the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has a balanced, layered mouthfeel, good length on the finish, and an overriding sense of purity and elegance that you don’t find often in the vintage. It will have 10-15 years of longevity.

Notes of cassis, blackberries, black coffee, cocoa powder, toasted cedar and graphite. Full and structured with firm, slightly chewy tannins and mellow fruity ripeness coming through. The finish is rich and succulent with some creaminess to it.

The 2019 Saggi wafts up with a rich mix of crushed raspberries, smoky grilled herbs and a dusting of cocoa. It's silky-smooth and cool-toned on the palate, with tart wild berry fruits, a core of zesty acidity and violet inner florals, amassing toward the close. This finished with echoes of blackberry and sour citrus notes while leaving a staining of fine-grained tannins. Winemaker Gilles Nicault found a beautiful balance in this blend.

The 2019 Saggi Red Wine from the team at Long Shadows checks in as 52% Sangiovese, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 16% Syrah, and it's certainly one of the finest Sangiovese-dominated blends coming from Washington State. Deep ruby/purple-hued, with a great nose of black cherries, currants, tobacco, loamy earth, and cedary spice, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a supple, elegant mouthfeel, silky yet present tannins, and a great finish. It should drink well for at least a decade.

Aromas of blueberry, boysenberry and cured meat. Full-bodied with firm tannins. Charcoal comes through. Dark fruit and chocolate, too. Pleasantly rich.

The nose delivers generous perfume of red and black cherry, blackberry preserve, sweet toasted clove, pine needle, powdered graphite, and stewed plum. Showcasing a glowing dark-purple core with a pinkish rim, and offers a full-bodied mouthfeel, sweet tannins, and gorgeous mouthwatering acidity.

The 2018 Saggi is mostly Candy Mountain Sangiovese (58%) with Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Syrah (12%). Gilles Nicault has created a sensational, one-of-a-kind blend here. The wine explodes out of the glass with potpourri and anise tones alongside a beautiful core of red and dark fruits. The palate offers tobacco, milk chocolate and boysenberry flavors, serious depth and concentration, insanely good range and an opulent sense of texture. Complex and delicious with firm tannins and a touch of hedonism, this sensational and novel blend with provide drinking enjoyment for another 15 years to come.

There are only a few Sangiovese-dominated wines from Washington, but they tend to be rock-solid. The 2018 Saggi Red Wine is a great example, revealing a ruby/semi-translucent color as well as notes of ripe cherries, leafy herbs, sandalwood, and dried flowers. Medium to full-bodied, it has plenty of richness, velvety tannins, and outstanding length. It opens up nicely with time in the glass and should have 10-12 years of longevity.

This blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah offers aromas of cedar, fresh peat, dark chocolate and cherry. The palate is full, bright and flavorful, full of coffee notes threaded throughout. A warm finish caps it off.

A delicious Sangiovese-dominated blend (58% Sangiovese, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Syrah) that is aged for 18 months in 55% new French oak barrels. The first thing you will notice is how pretty this wine is in the glass, showing deep purple with a bluish-ruby rim. Now move to the intoxicating nose of black cherry candy, boysenberry, sandalwood and wet tilled earth. The palate is fruit-forward on the front and moves to earthy and herbaceous on the back palate, along with medium plus acidity, a full and round mouthfeel and chalky tannins.

This is a red with cherry, berry, chocolate and iron character. Full body and firm, fine tannins with a chewy nature. Dusty texture. A year or two is going to soften this.

The 2017 Saggi checks in as 59% Sangiovese, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 17% Syrah that spent 18 months in 60% new oak. Its deep, saturated purple color isn't reminiscent of Sangiovese, yet it boasts rocking notes of jammy blackberries, raspberries, toasted spices, and dried flowers, with just a kiss of dried earth. Medium-bodied, with subtle oak, notable balance, and a great finish. It's another impeccably made wine by this estate that has loads to love.

Lovely perfumed lift to the aromas of raspberry, cherry, currant, rose petal, earth and tobacco leaf. Suave, vinous wine with good grip and medium body to its flavors of red and darker berries, spices, flowers and leather. Dried herb and menthol nuances contribute Old World complexity. The tannins are fine, dusty and broad, and the wine's floral perfume repeats on the end.

An interesting blend of 59% Sangiovese, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Syrah create a fan-favorite in the Long Shadow lineup. This wine sees 18 months in French oak barrels with 60% being new. It offers a vibrant nose of wild strawberry, marionberry, steel, rose, Korean short ribs and a hint of petrol. On the palate flavors of red and dark fruits mix with chocolate covered strawberry, mocha and vanilla bean to create an easy drinking, yet complex wine that will age for a decade or more.

Aromas of graphite and dark berries abound in this blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The palate has a deeply fleshy dark-berry core with a wealth of ripe and sweetly succulent dark berries. Impressive, seamless style.

The 2016 Saggi is a blend of 60% Sangiovese, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Syrah that begins with a red-fruited core on the nose of soft sour cherry and delicate florals with a dusty focus. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, the wine is structured with bright acidity that lifts the mid-palate with subtle savory herbs and spices. The lingering finish is well-balanced and has a good grip of dusty tannins that will evolve nicely in years to come.

The 2016 Saggi is mostly Sangiovese but has 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Syrah. Medium ruby-colored, with notes of ripe cherries, spice box, and dried flowers, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, present yet ripe, polished tannins, terrific balance, and a clean, graceful finish. It's certainly one of the best expressions of Sangiovese from Washington.

Crème de cassis, ripe black cherries, licorice, and toasty oak all emerge from the 2015 Saggi, which is a blend of 62% Sangiovese, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Syrah. With an inky color, full-bodied richness, fine, polished tannin and a great finish, it's another terrific wine from this estate that's going to evolve beautifully for 10-15 years.

Shows cherries, chocolate and hints of cedar. Medium-bodied, tight and focused with a fine and silky finish. Pretty blend of 62% Sangiovese, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah.

The 2014 Saggi is gorgeous. Black cherry, black currants, licorice, graphite and spice characteristics all give way to a rich, full-bodied, yet incredibly elegant and seamless stye on the palate. Given its purity and overall balance, it's going to cruise in the cellar, but it's already hard to resist as well.

Aromas of bittersweet chocolate, herb, pencil lead, smoke, cranberry and dark fruit lead to palate-coating black-fruit flavors that display depth and density. It shows a lovely sense of balance and detail.

Alluring perfume to the aromas of cherry, plum, spices and red licorice, lifted by a note of rose petal. Intensely flavored and energetic, offering juicy, sharply delineated flavors of dark fruits, flowers and graphite. In a slightly compressed, rather vertical style but even today the wine shows no hard edges. Opened beautifully in the glass, showing a sneaky, slowly building finish.

Another candidate for the best vintage to date of a cuvée, the 2012 Saggi is a blend of 59% Sangiovese, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Syrah that comes from fractured basalt and sandy loam soils and spent 18 months in 55% new French oak. It offers perfumed, savory notes of dried flowers, Asian spice, new leather and sweet black cherries to go with a full-bodied, voluptuous, layered and seamless style on the palate. Giving up real Sangiovese character, with the Cabernet and Syrah taking a back seat, it should evolve nicely for 2-3 years and keep for over a decade.

Lovely aromatic perfume of cherry, strawberry and licorice. Plush and glycerol, offering superb depth to the flavors of red and darker berries, spices and mint; a real wave of fruit on the palate. Impressively broad, pliant blend with building dusty-but-sweet tannins and outstanding length.

The 2011 Saggi offers beautiful notes of spice box, cedar, licorice, dried herbs and assorted black cherry and dark currant styled fruit to go with a medium to full-bodied, focused and layered feel on the palate. A blend of 43% Sangiovese, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah, this superb blend has a solid concentration (especially in the vintage), notable purity of fruit, and present, yet ripe and nicely integrated tannic grip that comes through on the finish.

Bright red-ruby. Lively aromas of blueberry, blackberry, licorice and flowers. Intense and suave, offering lovely sweetness and energy to its fine-grained flavors of sweet cherry, berries and flowers. Finishes classically dry and persistent."

Spending 18 months in 100% French oak, Saggi is Washington’s take on a Super Tuscan, and a good one at that. Loaded with ripe red and black fruits, forest floor, cedar, spice and a dry-aged beef-like gaminess, it stays relatively compact and focused on the palate and has a medium-bodied, firm feel, integrated acidity and notable tannin. As with all of this estate’s wines, their overall balance and texture ensures that they’re enjoyable now, however, this will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and impress for a decade after that.

Editors' Choice. This is an excellent wine....bright and generous, with plenty of toasty barrel flavors, it's highlighted with cut tobacco, citrus, herb and floral hints. There is an underlying minerality as well, making this one of Washington's most complex "Super Tuscans".

Dark and smoky, featuring an intriguing flavor mix of spun sugar and black cherry. Certainly one of the best Saggi offerings to date.

Bright, deep red-ruby; quite dark for Sangiovese. Lively aromas of cherry, flowers, menthol and cocoa powder. Juicy, perfumed and intense, with brisk acidity and a floral topnote nicely lifting the strawberry fruit. Finishes with strong, chalky tannins and lovely length.

Bright, deep red. Sexy aromas of black cherry, violet, licorice and toasty oak. Juicy, vibrant and quite tight, with a restrained sweetness to the blackberry and licorice flavors. Finishes broad but with a light touch, with suave, tongue-dusted tannins and sneaky persistence.

The 2008 Saggi is composed of 45% Sangiovese, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Syrah aged for 18 months in 55% new French oak. The wine was made by Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari of Tuscany. Earthy minerals, cedar, smoke, cherries, and blueberries inform the nose of an elegant, smooth-textured, spicy wine that has enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years. It will offer peak drinking from 2013 to 2023.

Aromatic nose features plum, dried flowers, licorice, pepper and spices, lifted by a minty nuance and sexed up by a hint of white fruits. Lush, broad and sweet, but with lovely inner-mouth energy and perfume to the red fruit, floral and spice flavors. Richer and less meaty than the 2006 version. Very suave wine, finishing with fine-grained tannins, excellent length and a light touch.

The Saggi is a multi-regional blend of 43% Sangiovese, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 21% Syrah. It was aged for 18 months in 55% new French oak. Deep purple colored, it displays an expressive perfume of cedar, Asian spices, black cherry, and cassis. Supple and round on the palate, this savory offering has excellent volume, plenty of concentration, and enough structure to evolve for 1-2 years.

This purple-colored wine offers aromas of pain grille, spice box, earth notes, cassis, and cherry. Smooth-textured, layered, and ripe, this well-balanced, elegant effort has ample savory fruit, excellent depth and concentration, and a lengthy finish.

Highly aromatic nose projects notes of berries, cherry, spices and dried flowers. Sweet, spicy and sharply delineated, delivering cherry and berry fruit flavors complicated by a meaty nuance. Finishes, clean, spicy and quite long, with palate-saturating flavor.

This purple-colored wine offers aromas of pain grille, spice box, earth notes, black cherry, and blueberry. Smooth-textured, layered, and ripe, this well-balanced effort has gobs of savory fruit, excellent depth and concentration, and a lengthy finish.

Lithe and focused, with pretty raspberry and strawberry flavors shaded with hints of rose petal and white pepper. Finishes with persistence and some delicacy.

Dark ruby / purple in color, it has an excellent nose of earth, leather, cassis and black cherry. This is followed by a smoothly textured wine with excellent depth, soft tannins, and spicy dark fruit flavors.

Highly complex nose combines plum, chocolate, dried flowers and tobacco. Suave, silky and sweet, but with lovely energy to the flavors of plum, cranberry and tobacco.